Park History

Dignowity Park is east of downtown on "Dignowity Hill" -- land once owned by Dr. Anthony M. Dignowity, a Czech immigrant who made San Antonio his home in 1846. He stopped in San Antonio on his way to fight in the U.S.-Mexican War, and stayed after seeing that the city needed a doctor. Dr. Dignowity became a prominent physician and invested in real estate, mainly on the city's east side.

In 1854, he and his wife, Amanda, built a large stone house on the highest hill east of town, naming it "Harmony House." Like many San Antonians, Dr. Dignowity opposed slavery and was nearly killed by Confederates. He spent the Civil War years away from Texas, and then returned to San Antonio where he died in 1875. Amanda Dignowity continued to sell real estate and live in Harmony House until her death in 1907. After the property was acquired for a City park, the house was demolished in 1926.

The land was not formally dedicated as a park, however, and was sold in 1948 for construction of Baptist Memorial Hospital. Three years later, the city repurchased it, and in 1952, the land was finally dedicated for "park and recreation purposes only" and officially named Dignowity Park.